Displaced
by LadyKitsuneHavoc
Summary: Zero is a Zorua that's captured and taken in by a creature he's grown to hate: a human. He's been abused by them before, but now he finds that they're not all so bad, and joins her on her journey. He wants to help other abused Pokemon. But time is becoming upset as well, displacing Pokemon and people. And like all good adventurers, they have to try and put a stop to it. OC bad guys
1. Zero's Capture

**Hey guys. :P **

**So I've been keeping this one up my sleeve for a while, but I love Pokemon. So since my LOTR story "See No Evil" has gone over so well, I decided to branch out yet again and make another story, this one focusing on Pokemon. This one was also inspired partially by another story called "The Adventures of Absol", which is really good. You should go check that one out. It's awesome. Anyway, I'm going to start this story now, which follows the life of one of my all time favorite Pokemon, a Zorua that will eventually evolve into a Zoroark, which is freaking awesome! XD anyway, here we go.**

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It's difficult sometimes to explain. The tightness in your chest. The way the breath won't enter into your lungs. The way your heart screams out in protest and your brain refuses to accept. This happened to me once, well probably more than once by now. But when I was still just a pup, it was hard to understand. I was young, and I thought that nothing bad would ever happen. I was ignorant to the world. But it did happen. And I was left to tell the tale.

It's not necessary that you should hear all of what happened then. But it is needed, so that you can understand my story. Events were set into motion on that day, that let me become what I am now. You see, I was not a Pokemon that was usually seen, even in my home region of Unova. I was a Zorua, nothing special. I was rather small for my kind, and not "shiny" as people call those of us who are born with different colors. I was just a normal Zorua. I lived in an old forest with my mother, and a few others that remained nearby. The humans had a name for it, but I never bothered learning it. I was a wild Pokemon. Humans didn't bother me, and I had no need to bother them.

Zoroark and Zorua tend to be rather shy and reclusive creatures, even from others of our kind. But the adult Zoroark had seemed to be growing more and more nervous about something, and so they began to gather together in one area, living in a sort of colony. Their illusions kept humans away, but other Pokemon that found us began to talk about how odd it was. Pokemon like us weren't normally very sociable creatures, and none of them knew what to make of it. At that time, I was only worried about making some new friends and playing.

But our "protection" didn't last us long. There was a group of humans then in the region known as Team Plasma. They came to our home and found us, even with the air heavy with illusions. They attacked us, and there weren't enough strong adults to protect us. These humans killed and burned, because they found some sick amusement in it. Then they captured as many of the young Zorua as they could and took us away. I didn't know how many had survived that attack. I only knew that my mother was not there and I was alone.

Sometimes in the night we would cry, a sound filled with pain. It was the only sound that those dumb humans could understand. They couldn't understand us at all. They beat us when we cried out. Then some of them came, the younger ones, and chose some of them. There were seven of us there. But then I really was alone. None of them wanted to take me for whatever plans they had for the others. I was too small. So one day they crated me and all of the other Pokemon up and put us on a boat.

It was full of such cries of torment and shrieking metal! The cages were too small. There was little light and no food or drink. I thought I was going to die. I thought it would have been a blessing then to have died. But I didn't.

One night though, the humans manning the boat weren't paying very much attention. Or maybe some thing hit us. I'm not sure. But I heard a loud bang and then I smelled flames. There was a lot of panic among the Pokemon. None of them wanted to die. I on the other hand would have been fine with that. But a Ponyta panicked and broke free from its chain, kicking my box open as she passed.

I couldn't ignore the panic in the air then, and I ran. I just wanted to get away, to escape the flames. I had decided then that I hated humans. They were careless and destructive. I didn't want to be anywhere near them. One of them started grabbing Pokemon and throwing them off the ship. He grabbed me too and threw me off.

I had never tasted salt water or felt its sting. But I didn't want to be anywhere near the boat, so I swam as hard as I could away from it. I never once paused to think about the man who had thrown me off of the boat. I just knew that I had to escape.

I wasn't going to make it to shore, even when I could see it so close by! Luckily for me, a passing Seaking saw me and took pity on the drowning Zorua. He helped me to shore, and heaving, I collapsed onto the white sands.

"Well there you are," he said. "Land at last. That was quite an accident. But I've never seen a Pokemon like you!"

"I'm a Zorua," I tried to explain, still coughing up water.

"A Zorua?" the Seaking asked, obviously not recognizing the name. "Nope. Never heard of a Zorua. What region do you come from?"

"Unova," I said. The water type Pokemon seemed very surprised.

"Unvoa," he cried. "That's a far journey! I've only seen Pokemon from that region brought over by Trainers. This is Jhoto, and these are the Sevii Islands."

I could only stare at him. Jhoto! I had heard tales of it from my mother, who had always made a point to tell me what she could. It was so far from my home! I had no chance of ever getting back now, and curled up in the sand, crying a little. The kind Seaking attempted to comfort me, but at last gave up and went away, seeing as he had other things to take care of.

There was a jungle nearby, and it was more comforting a sight than the sands, though it was strange too. I ran to it, and found a small tree whose roots I could crawl under. There were other Pokemon here, but they shunned me, because they didn't know who I was, and had never seen a Pokemon like me. So I lived here in silence for many years.

That was, until the boy came. It was obvious when he came, because humans are always so loud and clumsy! I heard another voice with his though as he came running through, and so though I hid out of sight, I was curious and stayed close.

The boy was an awkward age, around eleven or so. He had a big goofy grin plastered to his face, and bright green eyes. His hair was brown and seemed to be in a perpetual state of mess. He carried a bag at his side, and beside him ran, to my astonishment, a Maril.

I had seen Trainers and their Pokemon before, but only when they were battling. This Pokemon ran beside him, laughing happily and without a care in the world. She seemed to _like _him. I couldn't understand it. The only humans I had ever come into contact with were cruel and mean. But I couldn't help but admit that this boy didn't seem like the others. I couldn't help but not like him though. Not after all of that.

"Come on Silver," the boy cried. Silver? What kind of name was that for a blue Pokemon? She just laughed though and sped along after him.

"I'm coming," she laughed. "I love this place! The ocean's great!" I was even more confused. She was talking to him like he could understand her! It was insane!

"You like this place Silver?" he asked even though she'd just said that, proving my point. The boy scooped the Maril up into his arms and hugged her, and she hugged him back. "Good. Grandpa says we'll be here a while. I thought it would be nice to take a break from our adventure and come have some fun with Lucy for a change."

"Yeah," Silver the Maril replied. "Lucy's been lonely lately."

I watched, confused but slightly interested. I'd seen trainers before, but I'd always been taught to fear them. This trainer was different than any of the others I had seen! He didn't care about the power of his Pokemon. He wanted her as his friend. I scoffed at the thought. Humans being friends with Pokemon. They were only cruel. That's all I had ever seen of them. Silver heard me though, and hopped down, peeking under the tree at me.

"Hello?" she asked. I stared growling as menacingly as I could. The boy stepped forward as well and looked under the tree.

"What's that?" he asked dumbly. "A Pokemon? Woah, cool! I've never seen one like that!" He pulled out a strange little machine. I think I'd heard it called a Pokedex before, but I wasn't sure. He opened it and looked at it expectantly.

"Pokemon unknown," the programed voice replied. I continued to growl.

"What?" he gasped. "Unknown! Well, I'm pretty new at this myself. You must be from another region. What are you doing here little guy?"

He reached towards me, and I didn't want that at all. I snarled and bit his finger when it came close. He yelped in surprise and pulled his hand away. I instantly recoiled, remembering how the humans had beat me before when I had bit them. I curled up in a tight ball, still growling. The Maril instantly got angry with me, and started chiding me.

"That's no way to treat a trainer," she said. "You should be ashamed of yourself! Tom's a good boy. He didn't do anything to hurt you!"

"I don't care," I snarled back. "I hate humans!" She froze, seeming surprised by that. "All they've ever done is hurt me."

"Oh you poor thing," she said, pity filling her gaze. "You were abused. Did you have a trainer?"

"No," I snapped. "I'm still wild. But they kept hurting me, and they didn't want me because I was so small. Now I'm in the Jhoto region of all places! I just...I want to go home."

I couldn't help but start crying again, making a very sad whining and whimpering noise. But no Pokemon had talked to me in a long time, and even though Zoroark were solitary creatures, a young Zorua was not supposed to be. The Trainer, whose name I supposed was Tom, looked down at me and seemed sad suddenly. I felt the tiny paw of the Maril pat my head a little, and she looked at her Trainer sadly.

"He's so sad Tom," Silver said. "And so little. He can't be very old."

"H-Hey," Tom said, reaching towards me again. "It'll be alright. Don't cry. What's wrong?"

I felt his hand touch my head. It was a little bigger than my head. I flinched, but it wasn't a hard touch like it had been before with the other humans. It was much gentler. I paused a moment, wondering what was going on. I'd never had a human touch me that way before, without hitting me. But the old fear came back and I snapped at him. Anything to get him to leave me alone. I snarled.

"Go away," I cried. "Stay back!"

He pulled his hand away and looked at me a moment. I could see the pity in his eyes, and the pity in the eyes of his stupid Maril. I snarled and looked at her.

"I don't need your pity," I snapped. "From you or your dumb Trainer! I just want you to go away!"

"It's okay," Tom said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I didn't believe him of course. But I was being very clear in my message. You had to be with humans, and be very deliberate. Or else they wouldn't understand us. But he seemed too thick headed to understand, and simply sighed. He didn't leave me alone either. But at least the Maril had stopped patting me, and he wasn't trying to touch me anymore.

"It's okay," Silver tried to tell me. "We won't hurt you. Tom's a good kid. He's not like the other humans you've met."

"Go away," I growled. Suddenly Tom though, seemed to have a different idea.

"I know," he said. "I'll catch you! You need to see that humans aren't going to hurt you, and my sister needs her own Pokemon so she won't be lonely again. Besides, Grandpa was a Pokemon Trainer too. He'll know what you are. So how about it?"

"No," I growled. "I don't want to be caught by some human!"

"Come on," Silver laughed. "It'll be fun! You'll see, humans aren't all that bad."

"I don't want to be caught," I snarled.

"Too late now," She giggled. "It's time to battle. I hope you're ready!"

"Silver," Tom suddenly cried. "Use bubble!"

I yelped in surprise and leaped out of the way as the Maril sent bubbles flying at me. I hadn't battled in so long! But she only giggled, which annoyed me more. Usually I would have tried to run away, but this Maril was getting on my nerves. I turned back towards her and launched the first attack I thought of, Pursuit. I leaped forward quickly, catching her off guard and knocking her back. She leaped back up quickly though and giggled.

"You're stronger than your size suggests," Silver teased. "But I've been traveling and training. I'm stronger than you kiddo."

"Whoa," Tom gasped, stating the obvious. "Was that Pursuit? Are you a Dark Type then?"

"Yes you idiot," I snapped. "I'm a Dark Type. That's what Zorua are."

"Never heard of a Zorua before," Silver mused. "Oh well."

"Silver," Tom cried, pumped up now. "use Rollout."

She rolled up into a ball and then rolled at me. I tsked a little and dodged that as well. I may not have fought much, but I knew how to fight. I didn't see her change direction though and roll at me again. She caught me off guard, and I yelped as she hit me from behind. I landed heavily on the ground but stood up again. I was breathing a little heavier now, but I was enraged too. I snarled and turned back to her, glaring her down. I had used Leer, which lowered her defense a little. She rolled up into a ball and came at me again. This time I dodged both times she came at me, because she came with more force than she had before.

"Whoa," Tom gasped, seeming very excited. "He's fast, and he's pretty strong for such a little guy! Lucy will love him."

"I agree," Silver said with a smile. "But we have to catch him and get him to calm down first."

"Never," I snarled. "I won't be caught by some human!"

"Alright Silver," Tom cried. "Get ready to hit him again."

She got ready as I rolled my eyes. I could dodge her stupid Rollout. She wasn't going to hit me with that again. I leaped forward to use Scratch, hitting her multiple times with my claws, and then I leaped back in preparation for her attack. As I thought, she came at me with Rollout, which I dodged. Then however, Tom called something else out.

"Got him," he called. "Silver use Bubble!"

The spray of bubbles hit me right in the face, and I tumbled down to the ground with a yelp. I stood back up, but found that Silver was smiling at me and had backed off. Too late I noticed the red and white capsule flying at me. I tried to dodge it, but it shot out a red beam of light that sucked me into it, and there was a swirl of colors.

For those of you who have never been inside of a Pokeball, let me take some time to explain what it's like. First of all, when you are recalled, it tingles and you're surrounded by a red light. Then you're sucked into a Pokeball with the world swirling around you. It's disorientating a little bit. You're shrunk in size and put into a tiny parallel world that's full of darkness, with a safety release switch on the inside that's very hard to find, but used when needed. From the inside of the Pokeball, we can see everything that happens on the outside, with only the thin black line and button of the ball visible from the inside. We can also sometimes feel the body heat of people touching it, but only those with gentle touches. It doesn't hurt, and sometimes it can get a little boring if you have to stay in there for a long time, but it causes little more than an inconvenience to the Pokemon inside of the Pokeball, who would rather be walking around.

I however had never been inside of a Pokeball before, and I panicked. I tossed and turned, and I attacked the sides of the ball, not knowing then that I could look for the release switch. Most wild Pokemon didn't know of this. So they attacked, trying to rock the ball hard enough that it released us. I'd seen it done before by other Pokemon. But I had been weakened enough that though the ball rocked hard for a while and Tom and Silver watched it carefully, I couldn't get it out. With a ding the ball stopped rocking, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it to rock anymore. With a feeling of dread I realized that I had been caught. I was a domestic Pokemon now!

I almost wanted to cry then. I didn't want to be in the hands of humans again. I didn't want to be hurt by them again. I felt too like I had betrayed my mother, who had warned me against letting myself get caught. Before I'd thought that Pokemon were stronger, and that we could get away from humans, but then I felt very powerless. I snarled as Tom jumped up and down for joy and Silver ran over to the Pokeball. She pushed the button to release me and there was yet another swirl as I reappeared in a red light and glared at her and Tom.

"Alright," Tom cried. "I caught you! It says your a guy, so I'll need to give you a name hmm..." he paused a moment, thinking.

"Really?" I cried. "You've already disgraced me by catching me! Do you have to name me too? It better not be something stupid."

"It's fine," Silver giggled. "Tom's a good boy, and his sister's sweet. Their grandfather has all sorts of Pokemon too, and there's one that kind of looks like you, only bigger." This got my interest fairly quickly.

"A Zoroark?" I asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I've only ever heard her called by her nickname."

"I've got it," Tom suddenly cried, inspiration lighting up his eyes. "I'll call you Zero, since all unknown Pokemon are listed as the Dex number Zero in the Pokedex. Also, it sounds kinda cool. Don't you think Zero?"

"I do exist," I grumbled angrily. But I had to admit. I'd been caught, and there was nothing I could do about that now.

"Right then," he said. "Return Zero."

He held up the Pokeball and zapped me with the red light again. I was sucked into it again, and found myself muttering angrily and looking at him within his hand. He smiled down at me, that same stupid grin of his. He seemed very excited.

"Man, Lucy's going to love this," he cried. "I'm sure Grandpa will know what you are Zero. Then Lucy won't be so lonely, and she'll have a Pokemon of her own. Come on Silver! Let's go back to the vacation house!"

He started running, which was again very disorientating. At least I wasn't getting thrown around too badly in here. He ran as quickly as he could to a little house that had a dock by it, by a pier. I could see what I thought might be the mainland across the water, but it was very far away and kind of blurry. I sighed, wondering how I was going to do as a Trainer's Pokemon.

There was a man at the front door, and I looked up at him. He had kind brown eyes and gray hair, along with a gray beard. He had some aches in his joints, and I could see that well because of the way he was sitting. He wasn't a young human anymore. He was very old. But he looked up at Tom and gave him a patient smile. It reminded me of my mom. She gave me the same smile, no matter how many times I ran up to tell her I'd found something dumb, like a snake Pokemon. The thought both saddened and comforted me. I knew a kind person when I saw them, though it didn't mean I liked them.

"What've you got there Tom?" the old man asked.

"Grandpa," Tom cried with a smile. "I caught a Pokemon, and I'm going to give it to Lucy. I figured she needed a friend like Silver. He's really fast and strong. Only..." he looked down at me, and I found those pitying eyes again. "He doesn't seem to like people. I think he was treated poorly. He even bit me! But he was so scared. I couldn't just leave him. I think he needs to see that people are okay too."

"That's kind of you to try," Grandpa said. "And it'll be good for both of them I think. She needs a friend, and she needs some responsibility taught to her, even if she doesn't become a Trainer right away. She wants to though, and this will be good for her."

"Yeah," Tom agreed. "But I don't think he's from this region. I've nicknamed him Zero, but I've never seen a Pokemon like him. I figured you'd know what he was. Hold this for me Grandpa, while I got get Lucy. I want to surprise her."

Tom handed the old man the Pokeball, who held it very carefully. I could feel the heat of his hands. It was a comforting heat, and he was very gentle with the Pokeball, like he could tell that I could feel his touch. He began to hum a little tune, which was oddly soothing. I'd never heard anything like it before. Soon Tom came bustling back, and I saw my Trainer for the first time.

She was about nine I thought, and small for her age kind of like me. She had black hair that hung down to her shoulders, and a little streak of red across the bangs that laid across the left side of her face. Her eyes too were a bright blue. She didn't look shy per say, but she did look a little lonely. Her eyes had lit up with eagerness though. I thought her appearance was a little strange and oddly coincidental, especially since she was training a Zorua who, if you hadn't noticed, had the same coloration.

"Really?" Lucy gasped. "I get a Pokemon?" I rolled my eyes. Great, I just had to get the one that would be excited didn't I?

"Yeah," Tom replied with that goofy grin. "But you gotta be careful with him. He doesn't like people, so you're going to have to show him that it'll be okay. Alright? So be very careful. Don't scare him alright? He's not from this region, and I think he was abused."

"I'll be careful," she promised. Grandpa handed her my Pokeball, and she took it very gently. She smiled sweetly down at me, which I found both annoying and refreshing. "Let's see what you are, okay Zero?"

She pushed the button to release me, and I popped out gladly. I shook off a little and turned to glare at her, telling her as plainly as I could that I didn't like her and didn't really think I ever would like her. She just continued to smile at me. At least it wasn't that same goofy grin as her brother Tom's. Grandpa leaned forward and looked at me.

"You're right Tom," he said. "Zero's not from this region. He's from Unova, and he's a rare Pokemon to find even there, where he's native. It's because of the ability of him, and his second evolved form, which takes care of little ones like him." he reached towards me and I began to growl. He wisely pulled his hand away. "He also doesn't like people, so he was brought here by force, and obviously left. He's probably been abused a lot too, so you'll have to be careful with this little one."

"I will Grandpa," Lucy promised, and then rolled me a berry that she pulled out of Tom's bag. He let her take it, and I glared at it a moment. But I was hungry, so I quickly ate it and glared at her, though I couldn't hide the fact that I wished I had more. She smiled, and I growled at her a little.

"Now, he's a Pokemon called Zorua," Grandpa continued. "Also known as the 'Tricky Fox' Pokemon. Generally they have the ability to turn into other Pokemon and even sometimes people, though some can use a weak form of the much stronger version of this ability that is used by the adult forms of this Pokemon, creating weak illusions that can disorientate and show you something that doesn't exist. It's called the Illusion Ability, and it'll get stronger as he grows. He's a dark type Pokemon."

"He's so cute," Lucy giggled. I grew annoyed again. "I wonder why more people don't have little ones like him?"

"It's because of the adult form of Zorua," Grandpa replied, reaching into a bag for a Pokeball. "This Pokemon is known as Zoroark, the 'Illusion Fox' Pokemon. They're generally very shy Pokemon, and only live with a single Zorua until it's full grown. Thus, they're very protective of their Zorua. Not much is known about them because of this Illusion ability, making them very hard to find. They can even confuse cameras and other ways we have of finding them. You've met a Zoroark before. It's my Nina."

He threw out a Pokeball, and out came a female Zoroark. She made a purring noise to the two children, then looked down. She seemed to freeze as she saw me, and they all watched with interest as I looked back up at her. She crouched down low to the ground, so that her forelegs, which she would use more as arms than legs, were touching the ground and her chest was low. Her nose, with a snout longer than mine, was inches in front of mine.

"What are you doing here little one?" She asked.

"I don't want to be here," I complained. "I didn't want to be caught. Humans have always hurt me. I want to go home." She smiled kindly at me.

"Well this will be your home know," she said. "You belong to Lucy now right? Be a good little Zorua for her alright? She'll take good care of you. Not all humans are bad. You'll see."

I didn't want to believe her, but I wanted badly to feel the touch of another Zoroark. Anything familiar would do. I quickly ran under her chest and curled up in a ball, and she wrapped her arms around me as comfortingly as she could, purring to me. It was a familiar sound.

"I can see it now," Tom said, excited. "They look so similar!"

"Yes," Grandpa said. "And I think I'll leave Nina out of her Pokeball. It's more comforting to him, and it'll help him adjust to his new surroundings better I think. We'll just have to take it slow, and make sure he knows we're not bad people. I got Nina in a trade from a younger friend of mine. You'll take care of him for me, won't you girl?"

"Yes I will," she said, and he seemed to understand what she meant.

"Good girl," he said with a smile.

"He's going to be one awesome Pokemon," Tom said excitedly to Lucy. "Nina's super powerful! You're going to have an awesome Partner Pokemon! And look! He kinda matches you." She nervously flipped around with her hair.

"I-I guess he does," she said but with a smile.

I sighed, looking down. I didn't want to be a Trainer's Pokemon. But I wasn't too scared with Nina here. She was something familiar at least. And she didn't seem to mind them at all. I wasn't quite so homesick now that I had a Zoroark near me, but I still didn't want to have to listen to some human that would never understand me. But that's where I was now, and I didn't really have a choice anymore. I was determined at that point that I wasn't going to listen to her, no matter what she did. I wasn't going to be a toy for her amusement.

"Alright," Grandpa announced. "We've got to head back soon. We've got to go back to the mainland, and then go back Pallet Town. It'll take a while. But we'll leave Zero and Nina out of their Pokeballs until we get back. I don't think he likes it much in there. And we'll give him some first aide."

"That's okay," Lucy said cheerfully. "He can walk beside me, like Silver does with Tom. He doesn't have to go back in if he doesn't want to. Right Zero?"

I growled a little at her, but she didn't seem perturbed. She was determined to make a presentable Pokemon out of me, which only made me sigh more. Nina however continued to purr at me, and laughed a little.

"Don't worry," she said. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough. We'll be heading back across the ocean soon, and then you'll get to see your new home."

"Fine," I sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." I crawled up onto her back and laid down on her head, like I had so many times with my mother. She stood again and smiled.

"You will," she promised.

At the time, I didn't really think so. Funny how things end up working out though.

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**So what do you guys think? This has got a bigger story line to it as well, though it'll take a few chapters to get there. I hope you like the younger version of Zero though, and will continue to read. He'll grow bit by bit on this journey, just like Lucy will, and of course in the world of Pokemon they'll meet all kinds of crazy people and Pokemon! :D It'll get better eventually, I promise, but I needed to start off the story somehow. Obviously this is from his point of view, and I hope it'll get better and better to read as this goes along. **

**Leave a review below please to tell me hoe you think its going so far. ^^**


	2. Grandpa's Secret

**Here I am again guys! I love Pokemon. XD It's such a great part of my childhood. So anyway, here I am again with some more of the story with Zero. :D I hope you enjoy, though the main story line won't start for a while. I need to make sure that I have the characters established and that I have everything ready to dive into the craziness that is the main story line. Which will btw be because of another Team, another version of Team Rocket with new bad guys. Gotta stick with the classics. :P**

**Anyway, in this chapter we'll learn about some of the back stories of some of the characters, and Zero will start to warm up to Lucy a bit. You'll also get to hear about an original (I hope) Festival that I came up with, that will begin the journey of our heroes.**

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**Omg thanks to red the lugia who has already dropped a favorite, reviewed, and followed, and also to neaucleareactor5 for doing the same, who also owns the story "The Adventures of Absol" that inspired this one! Thanks for thinking that it's pretty good so far. I hope it continues to live up to your expectations. :3**

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I just remembered being completely terrified. I hated boats, and the easiest way to get so many people and Pokemon back to the mainland was by taking one. I just remember praying that it would be over and clinging to Nina a lot harder than I should have. She was patient with me though, and let me hang onto her until the ride ended and we left the metal death trap behind. On the ground, I was more than happy to let Lucy put me inside my Pokeball so I would "calm down". I was exhausted from the battle earlier, and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. So I curled up in the Pokeball and went to sleep, hardly caring anymore where they took me as long as I didn't have to go on another boat.

I was woken up quite abruptly by another swirl of colors, and I found myself laying on the floor instead on inside my Pokeball. I hated that thing, but I hated more to be woken up when I wanted to sleep. I eyed Lucy angrily, who quickly put away my Pokeball. She smiled a little ruefully at me.

"Sorry Zero," She said. "Did I wake you up?" I stood and shook a bit, glaring at her.

"No I was awake the whole time," I growled. "Yes you woke me up." She ignored me in her ignorant manner.

"Sorry Zero," she said. "But I thought you'd like to get to know your new home. This is my room, and the rest is downstairs. You can sleep here with me if you want, but Grandpa thinks you'll want to sleep with Nina for a while, until you're ready. That's okay too."

I looked around incredulously. It smelled like a human, and I had been taught to dislike that smell. It wasn't as stinking as most human settlements though, and there was another scent in the air...I raised my nose. Flowers? I found a small garden on the open window sill. Flowers were growing and waving happily in the breeze. I found I could smell a forest nearby. It wasn't the same forest as my home, but it was a comforting scent all the same.

I thought about running away for a minute, about trying to escape. But then I knew I couldn't. There would be too many people trying to catch me, and they could recall me back to my Pokeball in an instant. There would be no escape. I sighed sadly and jumped down again, looking around the room. I was supposed to grow to love a place like this? I turned and looked at Lucy, who was smiling at me and completely oblivious to the fact that I did not want to be here. She sat down on the floor then though and pulled another berry out of her bag, holding it out to me.

I watched her a moment. I couldn't deny that I was hungry, and I really wanted to eat something. But I wasn't going to eat from her hand like some pet. I'd tried that before and got a beating for it, because they thought I would bite. I stayed exactly where I was, and she sighed. She rolled it to me, and I sniffed it slowly, watching her but searching for any sign of some trick. Other than smelling like human it seemed fine, so I quickly ate it.

"I'm trying to help you," she said. "My brother had to hurt you to catch you, so I'm trying to heal you. Berries tend to help, so I'm giving them to you. I would use a potion, which would work much faster, but I don't think you'd let me."

She was right. I wasn't going to take anything from her. Not a potion, whatever that was, and not berries. I was only eating them now because I was too hungry to ignore my stomach. I hadn't eaten in days, but such was the life of a wild Pokemon of a different region, with no natural food sources or prey. I sat down and eyed her carefully. She seemed a little disheartened by my lack of change already. But then she smiled again.

"Okay," she said. "We'll just have to take it slow. You know berries are good for you right? Why don't you come get some more." She held more Oran berries out to me, but I growled a little so I knew she understood that I didn't like it. "Do I need to get Nina? Would that change your mind?"

The thought of the Zoroark did calm me a little bit. But I still couldn't understand it. How could she stand to be with humans? To serve them like an animal and to listen to their commands? But most of all, how could she let them touch her? I didn't understand it at all. But Lucy brought me out of my thoughts by sighing and opening the door. She looked down the hall to where the stairs was.

"Nina," she called.

Of course the Zoroark, with much better hearing than the humans, heard the girl call her. Within minutes she had come into the room. She made a contented purring noise at the girl, who smiled and reached forward, petting the long fur like a pony tail down her back and patting her nose. Nina closed her eyes with pleasure, but the thought of being touched by a human made me sick. The Zoroark turned to me then though, and smiled.

"See?" she asked. "It's not so bad here."

"I want to go home," I told her.

"This is your home now," she said with a patient smile. "You'll get used to it. Anywhere your Trainer is will be home to you. You'll find you care for her."

"No I won't," I snapped. "I hate humans." Still she smiled patiently at me, and it was starting to annoy me a little bit.

"You will," she replied. "I thought the same as you when I was first caught, though perhaps not so much with the hate you feel. But I grew to love my Trainer, and I found that humans could be good. The give us shelter and good food, and we get to go places and meet people and Pokemon we never thought we would. It's a good experience for one like you."

I wanted to tell her that she was wrong, to yell at her. But I couldn't. Somehow everything she was saying was reminding me what my mother had often said. It would be good for me. I don't think she ever meant for me to become a Trainer's Pokemon, but after everything that had happened, I thought that maybe this was better after all, than being a Pokemon used as a tool for that Team Plasma, or dead. She walked over to the pile of Oran berries that had been left on the floor, and held one up to me. Slowly, I walked over to her.

"There," she said with a smile. "It'll be alright. Now, why do you not like Lucy? Because she's human? Has she made you do anything you didn't want to? Or hit you once? She hasn't has she?" I looked up at the patient Zoroark and then down again.

"No," I replied quietly.

"I didn't think so," she said. "She's different than the humans you've met before. Much different. So don't worry so much, okay? Give her a chance."

I was so hungry, and in a bad mood. But I was tired of hearing that from her and the Maril. Tame Pokemon were so difficult! I snatched the berry away and quickly ate it, then I glared up at her. She only smiled more though and picked up another, handing it to me. I could already feel the berries working for me, soothing my aching muscles and starting to heal my wounds. It would take more time than it would perhaps with human medicine, but I wasn't going to let one of them touch me. Not now. I ate that too then looked up.

"Fine," I growled. "One chance. But if she betrays me I won't hesitate to hurt her." The Zoroark just beamed even brighter at me.

"Good then," she said. "Be good for her, and these berries okay Zero? She won't betray you. She's a good girl. Her parents raised her right, and her Grandpa who's raising her is doing a good job. So you've got nothing to fear."

"Where are you going?" I asked suspiciously.

"Outside with my Trainer for a walk," she replied with a smile. "He loves to go on them, but he can't go far without help. His pain's building."

"It doesn't look like he'll last much longer to me," I sniffed. There was silence, and I looked up at the Zoroark. Her eyes were sad now.

"You're right," she said. "He won't. He's dying. The doctors have given him a few more months. He hasn't told the children yet, and I can't blame him. He's doing so much for them, he doesn't want to hurt them with the knowledge. That's why you have to be a good Zorua, and take care of Lucy. Because soon, she won't have anyone to take care of her. She's almost old enough to go on an adventure like her brother, but it'll be a while." I looked down a little sadly. Death wasn't good, even when it came to having people die. I glanced up at Lucy, who was blissfully unaware of our conversation, and smiling. I knew it would hurt. It always hurt.

"But," I said, only half heartily now. "How am I supposed to trust her? And why should I help her, when she can't give me anything." The Zoroark smiled sadly.

"She will give you something," Nina replied. "Companionship. She'll become your best friend, and you would do anything for her. Yes, she's clumsy and she'll get into a lot of trouble. But she'll replace all the loneliness and hurt in your heart, and she'll let it heal. You know a heart can heal given enough time, and the right treatment yes? I know you do, though yours hasn't healed yet. You'll have to protect her a lot, but she'd do anything for you too, and she'd do everything she could to protect you. She'll be the one thing in the world you cherish. I know this sounds strange, and you don't understand. But you will. I did in enough time. So give her a chance. You'll find she has more to offer than it looks like." I huffed and ate another berry.

"I don't see why you like them so much," I said. She smiled.

"Wasn't there a Pokemon you liked once?" she asked. "Yes? It's the same thing, only that humans rule the world and your Trainer can practically get you in anywhere. You liked that Pokemon for who they were, not what they did. And you will like her the same way. Try this: let her pet you. Only her if you want for now. Just let her touch you. It feels good actually, a wonderful sensation. It tickles, but it's a healing touch as well. You don't have to let anyone else touch you yet if you don't want to. But let her pet you. I think you'll find she's a lot gentler than you thought."

With that, the Zoroark stood and left the room again with more purring to the girl and letting the girl pet her again. Like she was trying to show me how it was done. I huffed a little in irritation. I didn't understand why I should let her pet me. I didn't want to look like some domesticated pet. I ate the berries so I would have something to do, anything to get my mind off of all of that. I looked up again, and found the girl where she had been, only sitting on the floor and smiling sadly but sweetly at a picture frame. I didn't know why humans needed a picture to remember things, but I was curious. Slowly, I walked over and peered at it, careful not to touch the girl.

It was a picture of a woman and a man. The man seemed to be somewhat geeky, with short black hair and huge glasses, though I thought his eyes were blue. He was wearing a lab coat. The woman was tall, rather thin and very beautiful, as far as humans go, with light brown hair and blue eyes. She had a backpack over her back and was wearing a rather obnoxiously colored uniform. Lucy looked down at me and smiled.

"It's my mom and dad," she began to explain. "They love us, but work takes them elsewhere. My mom's a Pokemon Ranger. She helps out people all over the place who get into trouble, going into the field without a second's hesitation. She loves to help people. I think that's how she met dad. He's a Scientist, who's working to figure out some old ruins and what they could mean, along with some weird Pokemon there called Unown I think. They're not home often, though they write a lot to tell us how things are going. I'll be sending them a letter soon. I haven't seen them in years. I know they're doing what they love, so I can't hold it against them, but I wish they were here sometimes. I feel so alone."

I looked up then. Alone. That was a word that I was well accustomed to. I knew what it felt like to feel alone. It was true. She'd never felt so alone as I did right now. She had her brother and her Grandpa. I paused. While he lasted. And her brother would leave soon to go on his adventure again, both of them unaware that he would be gone soon. I knew she would really feel alone then. And as much as it pained me to admit, I didn't want her to feel alone. I didn't want that on anyone. I sighed, knowing that I'd have to do as Nina asked and swallow my pride. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I had let her feel the pain I had.

She put the picture frame back up on the dresser, and I sighed, knowing she wouldn't understand my words. She moved her hand to put it on the ground and stand up. I sighed and purposely moved so that her hand brushed my back. I shuddered a little at the contact. I'd never felt anything like it before. But it wasn't painful. It was a pleasant feeling, as Nina said it would be. Lucy froze however, and looked down. She saw that I didn't move, so she slowly began to stroke my fur. Her hand was fairly large compared to most of my body. But her touch was gentle. It was so much different than any other human contact I'd ever had.

It was so gentle. I could barely feel it. I thought at first that maybe she was scared that I would panic, but her touch didn't grow any rougher as she grew more confident. Her strokes remained slow and calm, and very gentle. Her hands were naturally gentle I decided. She continued to run her hands through the fur on my back. I had to admit. Nina was right. It was a pleasant feeling. I couldn't help but remember the way I had been hit so many times before, but I couldn't forget Nina, and how similar she was to my mother. And being a young Pokemon, I couldn't forget that either. I was caught somewhere between running away and biting her, and ending up being very still.

It was the first time I had felt such a gentle touch. I mean, Tom's hands had been similar, but not as gentle as hers. I thought about Silver and Nina. They were both sure that not all humans were so bad. And I had to admit. Nina was right. Lucy had yet to make me do something that I didn't want to do. She had even given me berries to eat, so I wasn't hungry anymore. And she was so gentle! She didn't say anything. She just sat there smiling sweetly at me. I looked up into her eyes. And I didn't see any of the anger or frustration in her eyes that I had seen in other humans.

For the first time, I thought of that time on the ship. I had seen other humans leaping off the side of the boat to save themselves. But there were a few, including the one who had grabbed me, who had tried to save the Pokemon on the boat. I could begin to see that they weren't all so evil, and I knew that from everything I knew before, I wouldn't think a human would risk his life for me like that. I wondered if he and the others were even still alive. Part of me suddenly wished they were. I shook my head. What was wrong with me? I hated humans, right?

I realized suddenly that I had started purring. I couldn't help it. She was so gentle with me. I felt like she was just soothing away all my fears. Like my brothers and sisters in a way. She was there, and I could almost sense her sensitive nature through her fingertips. She laughed, and now I didn't find it so obnoxious. She scooped me up into her lap, and I let her. She began to pet me, and I lounged there, letting my legs hang off her her knee, and my chin rest on her knee. I continued to purr, and she laughed a little.

"What's gotten into you Zero?" she asked. "Did you talk to Nina? Mom always said that Pokemon can talk to each other, just that we can't understand them unless they can talk to us, or we can talk to them."

"Your mother seems really smart," I said quietly though I knew she wouldn't understand me. She just giggled and continued to stoke me.

The door opened again, and I looked up suddenly, glaring. But it was Tom with Silver close behind. A little disdainfully, I turned my head away from the now giggling Maril and laid it back down on Lucy's leg.

"I told you," she said. "They're not half bad are they?"

"Shut up," I growled. "I'm not doing this because you told me to. I just...I wanted to see how it felt."

"Mhm," she giggled.

"What's gotten into you Zero?" Tom asked, but he sounded overjoyed. "I'm glad though that you're not so mad now."

He reached towards me too, and I didn't really want to be touched by him. I started growling, and he paused, but he patted my head, and I let him without biting him this time. He withdrew my hand and though I glared at him he didn't try to pat me again. He laughed though.

"It looks like he still doesn't like people that much," he said. "But that's amazing! He lets you pet him! I guess he wasn't so bad around people as we thought. We'll have to be careful still, but its great to see that he's becoming more used to people now. Hey I know! Why don't you take him outside! I'm sure everyone would love to see him now that he's getting better."

"Yeah," Lucy cried. "Come on Zero. You can come outside for once. I think you'd like it. This town is pretty quiet. You can meet some people who are going to be traveling at the same time as us when we leave in a few months. And you can meet Professor Oak. He's great with Pokemon!"

"I don't really have much of a choice do I?" I asked with a sigh. "I'm stuck with you."

"That's better spirit," Silver giggled.

I just sighed more and leaped up onto Lucy's shoulder. It was thin, but I was able to balance on it, since my balance was pretty good. She stood, looking at me like she thought I was going to fall off. I didn't want to be walking around with humans everywhere. I still didn't like them. It was just that Lucy was different, I guessed. She giggled more and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over a Luxray that was laying the floor. He looked up at us, then laid his head back down.

"Going out kid?" he asked with a yawn. "Good for you. I guess. I'm just trying to take a nap, so please don't disturb me."

"Sorry Rex," Lucy cried with a giggle and ran outside. Tom and Silver were close behind.

I was a little surprised as I looked around. This town was peaceful alright, but it was also full of kids, ready to get a head start and head out into the world with their Pokemon Partners. There were also older Trainers here as well with older and more powerful Pokemon. I saw Charizards and Blastioise, Metagross and many other older Pokemon. There were younger Pokemon who were running around happily after their Trainers, giggling like they'd found a pile of berries for them to eat. I was surprised, but there were so many happy Pokemon. I could sense it in the air. I wasn't the only one who was surprised though.

"What's all this?" Lucy asked. Tom laughed.

"Didn't Granpa tell you?" he asked. "This is the newest festival in the Jhoto region! It's called the Secret Festival. People come from all over, and they start here. They go through towns collecting special badges given from events that aren't against Gym leaders, and once they collect them all they get a special pass from the last one. Then they gather on a boat and sail to an island that's part of another region that doesn't have Pokemon battles. There they participate in a secret festival that is different each time, so no one knows what it will be like next. I'm going to go this year, and then you can come next year." She was practically giddy with excitement.

"Do you hear that Zero?" she asked. "I want to go! We'll just have to wait for a few more months! Then we can start gathering badges along our way and we can go next year! Won't it be fun?"

"I don't like boats," I said. But she didn't notice and couldn't understand me.

"Well then," Tom said with a smile. "we'll see you there next year."

"You bet," Lucy said, practically bouncing up and down.

I sighed, but somehow her giddy nature made me excited. I guess I could put up with it for a little while at least. Then there was another voice then, an older male voice. It sounded kind and wise at the same time. Lucy turned to look, giving me a clear view of a shorter old man with white hair and gray eyes. Tom and Lucy both smiled.

"Ah," he said. "I see. So this is Zero, the Zorua right? Yes, he looks like he'll do just fine, once he's okay with people."

"Professor Oak," Lucy said happily. "It's good to see you. I'm going to take Zero with me when I become a Trainer soon. We'll be a good pair don't you think?"

"Well," he said with a smile. "I think you'll need to work with him a little more, but then yes, I think you'll make a good team. Hello Zero. Doing well I presume?"

"Can he understand us?" I asked, surprised.

"No," Silver responded with a giggle. "But he's really good at guessing what we mean."

"Good I see," Oak answered himself with a smile. "Well, you'll grow to trust humans, I'm sure. You look like a perfectly healthy little Zorua. You're taking good care of him Lucy. I'm sure he'll grow to like you. He seems to a little already."

"You think so?" she asked with a giggle.

"I do," Oak said. "Now, I'd also like you to take a Pokedex, like your brother, to help me with my research. I know it's a little early still, but do you think you can do that for me?"

"No problem," she cried. "We'll find all the Pokemon we can for your research, right Zero?"

"Sure," I sighed. "Still don't have a choice do I? So I guess I'll tag along."

"What got you to change your mind all of a sudden?" Silver asked, somewhat surprised. I looked away.

"Reasons," I said, and she could see I wasn't going to say anything else about it. Apparently, she didn't know either.

She looked like she might ask me something about what I had meant by saying that. But luckily for me, some human boy ran over to Lucy, and she turned to look at him. He was smaller than her, short for his age. He had messy red hair and dark green eyes. There was a Pokeball in his hands, and he was practically bouncing up and down as he gazed at me. I blinked at looked back at him. He was a little bit of an odd one.

"Lucy," he cried. "I see you've got a Pokemon. Well my dad caught me a Pokemon too. Now we'll be leaving soon too to go on an adventure. Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah I am Sam," Lucy replied with a smile, again completely oblivious to the fact that I was sitting on her shoulder and didn't really want to go anywhere that meant I would have to see even more humans. "You've got a Pokemon? Let me see."

"Yeah," he grinned. "Alright, come on out Leah."

He hit the release button on the Pokeball, and a Vulpix came out. I could feel the heat coming off of her as she glared angrily up at Sam and turned away from the grinning boy with a snort. Then she looked up at me disdainfully.

"What are you looking at," she asked. "domestic?" That was supposed to be an insult to Pokemon who had been caught by Trainers from wild Pokemon.

"You're a domestic Pokemon now too," I pointed out. "Besides I haven't been caught all that long."

"And yet you ride on her shoulder like some pet?" she sneered.

"It's better than sitting inside that stupid Pokeball," I said with a shrug. She seemed to think about that a minute.

"I guess you're right," she sighed.

"Whoa cool," Lucy said happily. "A Vulpix. She's beautiful." That seemed to make Leah a little happier, and she smoothed down her fur as if to accept the compliment.

"Yeah," Sam said, laughing. "She's pretty cool. I've never seen a Pokemon like that one before though. What is he?" Lucy patted my head, and I let her, though I thought once or twice about biting her.

"This is Zero," she giggled. "He's a Zorua all the way from the Unova region. He's a little jumpy around people." her face fell a little. "We think he was probably abused. He keeps growling at people and trying to bite them. But he's getting better."

"Well, I'm sure he'll warm up to people before long," Sam said encouragingly. "But until then, what do you say to a Pokemon Battle?"

"What?" Lucy suddenly gasped. "I-I've never had a battle. And I don't know how Zero will do. He really hates people..."

"Oh come on," Sam laughed. "It'll be fun. And your brother and all these other trainers around can give us some pointers if we need them. Just give it a try. It'll be fun."

"I agree," Oak suddenly said. "It'll be good for you to get in some practice, and I think that all these Trainers around would love to see two young Trainers such as yourselves practicing. I can take care of healing your Pokemon."

"Go for it Lucy," Tom said with that goofy grin. Silver giggled.

"Listen to your Trainer now Zero," she said. "Or else you'll both get hurt. If she's anything like her brother, she'll be a natural."

"Okay, okay," I said with a little growl. "I'll do it. Just shut up."

She only giggled more, and Sam and Lucy walked a required distance apart. I didn't understand why this was necessary, but whatever. Oak began to explain the rules to both of them about Trainer battles, and about keeping their Pokemon safe. Then he appointed himself referee over this battle and smiled at the two young Trainers, telling them to get ready on his mark. Other Trainers began to gather around. Some had small Pokemon with them, others had very powerful Pokemon standing there, sleeping, or watching with smiles, no doubt remembering their own first battles with their Trainers. Lucy shifted a little nervously.

"I-I'm not good at battles," she said. "Or well, I've never tried so I don't know. Help me out a little Zero. Do something to help me out."

I glanced around. Help her out huh? I really didn't want to lose to that Vulpix, and I was thinking of some trick I could pull. I was called the "Tricky Fox" Pokemon after all apparently. My eyes landed on a rather large Charizard in the crowd, and I smiled. Perfect. Vulpix took the field, and I leaped forward too, taking the form of the large Charizard. I knew what to do. It was instinct for me, as much as it was for bird Pokemon to fly south when it was cold. I just hoped that my illusion passed well enough to make it look convincing.

Obviously, I did. People gasped in confusion and Leah suddenly cowered from me. Even Sam seemed to have suddenly forgotten that the Pokemon that Lucy had with her was in fact a tiny little Zorua, and not some great fire breathing Pokemon. Lucy was taken a back for a moment, and then she seemed to shake herself out of it.

"Zero, use Leer to start us off," she called to me. "Lower her defense!"

I sighed a little inwardly, thinking that this would take a while. Who needed to listen to a Trainer? I knew what to do. But she seemed confident enough I supposed, so I decided, what the heck? I'd listen to her for a while. I glared the Vulpix down, hoping that the illusion I had conjured would be enough to lower her defense significantly. I thought it worked, because she didn't move. The Pokemon I had copied was obviously a very powerful one.

"Leah, snap out of it," Sam called. "Go! Use Ember!"

She didn't seem to think that using Ember on something like this would work very well, but she obeyed her Trainer anyway. I dodged away, and I think she saw that my illusion was much more agile that it should have been, because she spat more fire at me, this time hitting me in the face. The illusion faded as I yelped a little and tried to shake the pain of the fire attack out of my face. Lucy had all the confidence she needed though, and the crowd was now very interested in our battle.

"Zero," she said. "Use Scratch, but follow it with a Pursuit!"

"Quick Attack," Sam called.

I reached forward with my claws to slam into Leah, but she seemed to disappear to my eyes and rammed me from the side. I didn't forget what Lucy had told me though, and I mimicked her, causing a little confusion in her eyes as I hit her in turn with the Pursuit. She rolled away. I looked up at her, my breathing starting to become a little ragged. We were both not very strong Pokemon at this point, and I knew that she had hit me more that I had hit her. But her defense was down too, so we were about even. She glared at me.

"That's it Zero," Lucy called encouragingly. For someone who didn't think she knew how to battle, she was plenty confident and her instincts for battle were pretty good. She didn't just know how to fight, she felt the fight inside. It was impressive, I would giver her that. "We can do this. Hold on a little more okay?"

"I'm not exactly going anywhere," I said, a little annoyed.

That seemed to amuse some of the older Pokemon, who chuckled a little bit. None of the older Trainers spoke up, so it seemed like Lucy and Sam were doing okay telling us what to do. Usually, I would have never listened to a human. I didn't want to look like a pet that couldn't do anything unless I was ordered to. But at this point, I was mad. That Vulpix had struck a nerve for some reason. She was hurt, and she was smiling at me like she had this all in the bag, like there was no way on earth that she could lose right now. It really ticked me off. She hadn't seemed so confident earlier when I had transformed into that Charizard. I couldn't want until I wiped the smirk off her face. Why did Fire Types have to be so rash all the time?

"Leah," Sam cried. "Use Tackle!"

"Zero," Lucy called to me. "Use Scratch! But wait for my mark to move."

Leah came running at me. She was smiling more, ready to take me down and loving every minute of this. I really wanted to move, to dodge out of the way and attack. But Lucy's gaze was on the battle, somehow holding me back. Fine. She seemed to know what she was doing, so I'd wait this out and let her do what she thought was best. I prepared to leap upwards, to escape the fire type in front of me. But I waited, hoping that Lucy knew what she was doing. Leah came closer. She was nearly on me now, but I didn't budge.

"Now Zero," Lucy cried.

I didn't dare waste another minute. I leaped upwards, just out of reach of her tackle attack. Leah was surprised, and she skid to a stop. But I realized that this was what Lucy had been waiting for. Leah couldn't dodge or defend herself from my attack this way. I laid into her with my claws, landing on her back as I did so. The Vulpix yelped and fell down onto the ground. I leaped off, watching her. She tried to get up, but then she fell back down with a sigh.

The Trainers nearby started cheering, smiling and laughing with each other, talking excitedly. I'd never seen anything like that. They seemed so happy! It was so different than the Team Plasma goons I had known, who always had a sour face. These people, some younger and some much older, seemed just happy to be with their Pokemon, who seemed just as happy to be with their Trainers. It was not something I'd ever experienced before. But seeing them clap and smile at me made me unable to not feel just a little bit of pride. I had never felt that before.

Lucy ran up to me, laughing happily. She scooped me up into her arms and hugged me, laying her cheek up against mine. Still, she was so gentle with me! Her smile suddenly made me smile, and I felt more goofy and like a kid than I had in a long time. Why did humans affect me that way? I didn't know, but I liked the feeling none the less. I laughed too and hugged her back as best as I could with no arms. That seemed to make her even happier.

Oak smiled too, and he quickly walked over to Leah, healing her with something in a spray bottle and she stood up. She sent me a glare, but I ignored her. Let her be mad. Sam wasn't mad at all though, and recalled Leah to her Pokeball. He walked over, grinning from ear to ear.

"Congratulations," he said with a smile. "You won! And it was your first battle!"

"What?" a Trainer nearby cried in surprise. "That was your first battle?"

"No way," another said. "The way you pulled that off, I thought for sure you had done this a lot before!"

"Kid, you're a natural," another said with a laugh.

"And that Pokemon of yours," another said. "That was amazing! I couldn't even tell that was an illusion until he dropped it! How long have you had him? He listened so well!"

"Only a few days," Lucy replied, looking down at me. "I'm a little surprised that he listened as well as he did. We found him on the Sevii islands, and he's not even from this region. He can't be all that old either. We think he was abused by people, because he's been so scared of everyone."

As if to make her point, Oak came over. He reached towards me with a spray bottle, and I instantly began to growl at him. He just smiled and picked me up. I bit him, sinking my teeth into his arm and refusing to let go until he let me go. The other Trainers were a little taken aback by my sudden aggression, and Lucy gasped and leaped up.

"No Zero," she said. "Let go!"

"It's quite alright," Oak said with a smile, though also a slight wince. "I get bitten all the time. It's part of my job. Besides, I think we can forgive Zero for that. He has had a pretty rough life I'm sure."

He began spraying the bottle over my wounds. It stung at first a little, but then my pain began to soothe away. I was a little surprised. I'd never felt anything like that. Was that the Potion that Lucy had been talking about earlier? I supposed if they were all like that I could stand to let her spray me with that. But still, I didn't like people that much, and I didn't like to be treated like some pet. But Oak smiled and released me from his grasp. I instantly let go of his arm and leaped back up onto Lucy's shoulder, growling at him and any other human that came near.

"I'm so sorry Professor Oak," Lucy started. But he waved her away with a smile.

"It's fine," he said. "He'll do fine. Just give him a little rest, and lots of love. Maybe he'll mellow out then. If you want him to be ready by the time you turn ten in a few months so he can go with you on your journey, you'd better make sure you take good care of him. A few more teeth marks won't hurt me at all."

"I will Professor," she promised. He smiled.

"Good," he said. "Now all of you looking to register for the Secret Festival, come with me. I'll get you started. Good luck to all of you."

I watched as Trainers from all over raced off to go register for this Festival, and Tom and Silver went with them. The crowds started dissipating at last, and I watched them go. That was what we were going to be doing next year? I didn't think I wasn't really looking forward to it. I didn't like people. I was only putting up with Lucy because Nina had asked me to, though I couldn't help but admit that she might not be all that bad. She turned and began to walk away towards the house again.

"Well that's it then," she said somewhat sadly. "Tom's leaving again. Then soon we'll be leaving. I'm a little sad about it. We'll be leaving Grandpa all alone. I wonder what he's going to do then?"

I looked up at her. There was a smile on her face as she thought suddenly of something. I couldn't help but feel a little sad. She didn't know what I did. She didn't know that soon, she would be the one that would be all alone. Her brother would be gone, her mother and father no where near. Grandpa's Pokemon couldn't stay here. They'd probably be given away to others who needed some extra help or something. Or maybe they'd be released. Either way, she'd soon truly be alone. I knew how that felt, and I felt sad suddenly.

No, not alone I supposed. I was stuck with her after all. And I guessed I'd be helping her out anyway. So it was my duty to make sure she wasn't so completely alone that she had felt the way I had once. I didn't want anyone to feel like that. Not even some dumb human.

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**Q~Q **

**The next chapter might make you cry. But it's kind of necessary for plot development sadly. Anyway, after this chapter we'll kind of begin to set up the real plot to this story. I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I really like it, so please be patient with me. ^^ This is what I get for trying to make it seem more like a real world story...**


	3. Coincidences

**Well here we go again. I really like this story, and I love Pokemon! :D Anyway, here we go again. This chapter will be pretty sad probably, but it sets chapters in the future, so it's needed. Anyway, we'll try and get this up and going soon. **

**I hope you guys can put up with me for a while with this one. :P I'm pretty sure my fascination with dark type Pokemon began with Darkrai. Everything was cool about him, from the music in the movie when he appears, to the look of the Pokemon. The Pokemon Movie "The Rise of Darkrai" was the movie that made me re interested in Pokemon when I began to think it was childish. Because Darkrai was freaking cool. xD**

* * *

I smiled to myself. I was going to surprise Lucy soon. It had been a few months at least. I had hated humans before, but I was a naturally happy and gentle creature, though I had thought for a while that I had to act differently. Lucy had showed me so much kindness, and I had to admit that I had become the tame little pet that I hadn't wanted to. I would do anything for her, and I was getting more used to people. It was amazing how much a little kindness could change my perspective in such little time! I would put with humans for the rest of my life as long as Lucy showed me that same kindness she had. So after all she had done for me I had decided to surprise her. It wasn't anything too big, but I wanted to show her that I could.

I had noticed that some of the Pokemon that came with Trainers could be understood by humans, and I thought that would be great. I asked one of them how they did it. Naturally they explained to me, and I listened very attentively. It was a Lucario, who made it very clear to me that I had to be very careful with what I said. It was a little complicated, but I would slowly learn it if I kept at it. I wanted to be able to talk to Lucy, to tell her how much I cared, and that she meant everything to me. Because she was so different, and because she had shown me another life I could lead that was as good as the one I had before. It was her birthday tomorrow. She was turning ten. And this was as good a present as any I could give her.

It was a little hard to tell, because teaching myself to talk where she could hear me was getting pretty difficult, but I was willing to try it. I wanted to make her smile, and I knew that this would do it. It would be great to know that she could understand me. And I'd heard of other young Zorua learning to do the same. I felt like I had finally mastered the trick, and I was ready to show Lucy. I'd surprise her, and I was waiting for her to get home from going to see Oak like she had been for a while.

I heard her coming up the stairs, and I jumped up with a smile. But then she opened the door, and I froze. She had tears in her eyes, and she looked like she had been running for a while. I could see so much pain in her eyes, and I suddenly remembered before she even said anything. Grandpa! She looked at me and ran over to me, falling to her knees and scooping me up into a hug. She started sobbing and nearly crushed me to my chest. I was too upset and too dumbfounded to try and say anything.

"Zero," she said. "He's gone! He said he didn't feel well. And he went to the Pokecenter yesterday for some treatment, but then I went there and..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't have to. I knew exactly what had happened. How could I have forgotten something like that? I somehow managed to squeeze myself even closer to her side and nuzzled her face as comfortingly as I could. I knew it could do little right now, but more than ever I knew I had to impress upon her that she was not alone, and I had not forgotten about her. She squeezed me still harder and sobbed more.

"Lucy," I said quietly. I wasn't sure if I was talking out loud or not, but she didn't seem to hear me either way.

There was the sound of more people running up the stairs, and I looked up at them sadly. One was Oak, and another was Sam. They both froze as they saw Lucy and then they grew a little sad too. Oak walked over and laid his hand on her shoulder, and Sam stood looking sad in the doorway. She didn't look up at them, and just continued to sob into my head. I cool feel her tears soaking through my fur. But I wasn't complaining. And I wasn't going to tell her to stop it. She needed something. Anything familiar. We all do when our world is turned upside down.

"Lucy," Oak said. "Now darling, now's not the time for this. Come on. Let's go to my Lab. There you can calm down and have a good dinner, alright? Let Zero go and-"

"No," She suddenly screamed, terrified. I was surprised. I'd never seen her freak out like this before. She turned me away from Oak and looked up at him, as if he would take me away from her. "No don't make me leave him. I don't want to be alone!"

She started sobbing again. I looked at her sadly. She really was taking this hard. I could tell why though. Grandpa was the one who had raised her. Her parents were no where around, and her older brother was off somewhere on an adventure. I was the only friend she felt like she had right now. I licked her face, tasting the salty tears. It wasn't a good taste at all, and very bitter. But it seemed to calm her a little.

"You don't have to leave him," Oak assured her calmly. "He's coming with us. You know that. He's not going to leave you. But you're going to hurt him if you keep hanging onto him like that."

Lucy froze then and let go of me, as if terrified that she had hurt me. I landed in her lap and leaped up onto her shoulder, standing there and balancing on it. Then I licked her face again and rubbed my cheek into her tear stained face. She started petting me almost immediately. It was a familiar motion for both of us, and a soothing feeling for her, feeling my soft fur. She seemed to calm down a little bit then. Even if I wasn't trying to talk right now, I was making it very clear that I wasn't going to leave her. Oak smiled at her patiently.

"See?" he said. "He knows you're upset, and he knows why I bet. He's not going to leave you. Now please, come with me to my Lab. We'll get everything straightened out, and you should get some rest. Alright?"

At last she nodded, and she was quiet, though I could still feel the sobs wracking through her body. She was trying hard to be brave, but she was too sad to be very brave. She just sadly walked after Oak as he turned and began to walk to his lab. I sat dutifully on her shoulder, making a soft purring noise to her, to tell her that I was here. Sam followed us sadly, not saying anything at all.

Outside, there were many people gathered. They were people from the town, and people from other regions as well, many that I assumed were Grandpa's friends, old and young alike. They watched Lucy sadly as she went along, and she stared at the ground and wouldn't look up at anyone. I didn't try to talk to any Pokemon as she walked away with me on her shoulder, and they just watched me, both a little proud and a little sad. I just nestled closer to Lucy's neck.

It began to rain. As if the sky was crying. Odd, how sometimes coincidences work like that. I didn't mind though, and Lucy didn't seem to be noticing much of anything. Soon we went inside the Lab, where Oak asked Sam to take Lucy to a room he had upstairs where he lived, a room that had once belonged to his grandson. She sat down on the bed, and I leaped down into her lap, purring at her and rubbing my cheek into her, to wake her from her disbelieving daze. She didn't seem to notice me, and brushed me from her lap as she curled up in a ball and hid her face. Sam looked at her a moment, seeming sad, but unsure what to say.

"L-Lucy?" he asked. "They said it was fast okay? He didn't feel it. And the funeral's going to be soon. Then they're going to give away his Pokemon, and he left a few things to you in his will. Don't you want to see what they are?" There was no response, though he waited a while to see if she would respond. Then he sighed. "Alright well, I'll go get Oak. We'll bring you something to eat alright?"

There was no response. She was silent. I was worried and a little afraid. I'd never seen her act that way. She was always happy and smiling. She was always laughing and getting a little bit into trouble. I knew that she would take this hard, but not this hard. I nudged her with my nose as Sam left the room and closed the door. She didn't even look at me. I got a little bit angry with her then. Yes, Grandpa was gone, and that hurt both of us. But she needed to be strong and get over this. He wouldn't want to see her moping like this.

"Hey," I said, nudging her again. "Stop it. You're really just going to sit there like this? Is this how Grandpa raised you? To give up?"

"Go away," she said quietly.

"No way," I replied with a little growl. "I'm staying right here until I knock some sense into you. This isn't the Lucy I know."

"I don't want to talk to you," she cried. "Go away!" I paused a moment, so she could hear me. I was talking in her language. Good. I needed her to understand.

"Listen," I said. "And you better listen, because I'm not afraid to bite you if it'll get you to quit mopping. You said you wanted to go on an adventure. Well you're turning ten tomorrow, and then it's time to go right? Grandpa would want you to go on your journey and have fun, not sit here and do nothing. How's that staying true to his memory? Your dad's a Scientist and your mom's a Pokemon Ranger. They're out there doing what they love, but if you never leave home, how will you know what you love to do? I didn't become tame just to watch you back out. Get some courage girl. I didn't survive this long by being weak."

"I said go away," She said. She was hearing, but she wasn't listening to me.

I growled a little. She sure could be stubborn. I sank my teeth into her arm. I didn't bite her hard, but it had the desired effect. She shook me off and I landed on the floor. I looked up at her, and she grabbed her arm. She looked down at me, looking angry. I couldn't help but cringe away. The others had hit me when they looked at me like that. She paused when she looked at me, looking confused, and so I continued, straightening up again.

"I'm not going anywhere," I repeated. "So stop this. I'm not leaving you, so it's not like you're alone. You're my partner aren't you? You can't bottle this up and not look at anyone. You were starting to do that. I could tell. You can't close your world off. I know you better than that. So get up." She stared at me a moment.

"Zero?" She asked. "You can talk?" I looked away.

"Yeah," I replied. "I wanted to be able to talk to you. To tell you how much you mean to me, and that...that I'm okay being a Trainer's Pokemon if I'm with you. I was going to surprise you with it. Tomorrow's your birthday after all. I wanted to give you a present."

I felt her pick me up again, and she hugged me, the same gentle hug as always. I looked up at her, and found that there was a smile on her face again. She still looked sad, but no where nearly as sad as she had once been. I purred and rubbed my face along hers, brushing away the tears with my fur.

"Thank you," she said. "I should have known. You're my best friend Zero. That's a wonderful present, and the best one I've ever gotten. I'm sorry to have worried you. And everyone else. Come on. Let's go show them I'm fine. I'd rather be doing something anyway than sitting up here. But did you have to bite me? That hurt."

"Sorry," I said. "But it worked didn't it?"

"I guess," she said with a little laugh. Much better. "Sometimes I need to get bit a little to remind me what I need to do."

I smiled a little and then leaped up to sit on her shoulder again, rubbing my face along hers and purring again to her. She leaned her head into me for a moment, feeling my fur against her face. Then she wiped away the last of the tears and smiled, standing again. She turned and ran downstairs. She found Oak standing there and talking with Sam. They both paused and looked up when they saw her.

"Sorry for worrying you," she said. "I'm better now. I just needed a little pep talk."

"That's great," Sam said, but he looked perplexed. "But who was talking to you?" She smiled and scratched me under the chin, and I laughed a little.

"Zero of course," she said with a laugh. "Don't worry. I'm not crazy. Say hi Zero."

"Hi," I said. That was stupid, but I was too happy to care. Oak smiled brightly and Sam seemed very impressed.

"Whoa," he said. "Zero you can talk? That's awesome! When did you learn to do that?"

"It's a difficult process," Oak explained. "It probably took him months. But I'm glad he can talk. It seems to have done wonders for you Lucy."

"That's why he's my best friend," she said with that characteristic giggle of hers. "So is there anything I can do to help? I don't want to be sitting in here mopping all day. Oh and can we bandage this up? Zero's pep talk needed a little force too."

"I see," Oak said with a laugh. "Yes, I'll see what I can find for you to help with, and I'll help you bandage that up. In the meantime, can you go get Sarah for me like I asked Sam?"

"I'm on it," Sam replied with a smile, running out the door. I looked after him.

"He sure seems full of energy," I said.

"He's always like that," Lucy replied with a laugh.

"Well," Oak said. "Glad to see that you're in a better mood. Now let's see that arm of yours."

I watched as Oak took her hand very gently and began to look at the wound. He didn't seem upset with me at all that I had bitten her. I felt a little guilty about it, but no one seemed to hold a grudge against me for it, so I guessed it was alright. Oak quickly bandaged it, and I shifted my weight a little so I wouldn't fall off her shoulder as she moved her arm. She didn't seem to notice the movement much. Oak smiled at her.

"So let's see," he said. "You seem willing to work. What can I have you do?" he thought a moment. "I know. We need to move some of the Pokemon out of the rain. Some don't like it much you see. So do you think you can do that? Just be careful because some of them don't like people much."

"Yeah we can do that," Lucy replied almost instantly. "We can handle that right?"

"Sure can," I said with a smile. As long as she was happy, I was willing to let her take me anywhere.

She just smiled and ran out through the back door to where all the Pokemon were chilling out. As we were going along, I began to notice how large and vicious some of those Pokemon looked. I certainly wasn't ready to face some of them. But most of them were perfectly happy to come when Lucy called so long as they got out of the rain. Others smiled and leaped off into the rain, enjoying the beautiful day. I just sighed and shook my head. Whatever floats their boat. I would rather not get my fur wet but water types were just weird that way.

As we were running around together through the rain however, I noticed that some of the Pokemon weren't coming out. They looked terrified of Lucy and were trying to hide. One was a very small Charmander that really should be out of the rain. If his tail got wet he was going to die. I sighed and leaped cleanly off of Lucy's shoulder, and looked up at her.

"I'm going to get these Pokemon over here," I told her. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," she said. "Just don't bite off more than you can chew."

"I know," I told her with a smile.

I took off running towards the Pokemon that were trying hide themselves out of sight. I paused outside of the little cluster. I looked at all of them, and they looked at me for a while. Some of them seemed to be interested in me. Others seemed scared. And a few others seemed to be wild. I sighed. This was just great. But I guessed that I had little choice but to try and convince them to go inside the pens.

"Listen," I said. "I know you don't like humans, or don't seem to like them. But you can't just sit out here in the rain unless you're a water type. Go inside where it's dry. Oak's not a bad person, and he's pretty good telling what we want. He's not dumb like other humans. So go inside and get some food. There's nothing wrong with eating to survive right?"

That seemed to get some grumbling from other Pokemon, but most of them seemed to get that it wasn't all that bad at last. Besides, they didn't want to be stuck out in the rain without any other shelter. They one by one began to leave. I turned my eyes again to the Charmander. He just sat there with his tail under a bush, shuddering and looking at me ruefully.

"I don't want to go," he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't like humans."

I sighed. That much seemed obvious. He was wringing his tiny little hands together. I walked over and sat down by the other side of the bush so the rain wouldn't get into the bush as much and wet his tail, since it was blowing in from this side. I looked at him.

"Why do you not like them?" I asked.

"W-Well," he said. "I used to have a trainer. But then some Team Rocket goons beat him and stole me from him. They weren't very nice to me. Then they were disbanded and I was released and I ended up here. I just don't like them." I sighed. So he wasn't that much different than me.

"Listen," I said. "That's the wrong attitude. You had a trainer, so you know that they're not all bad. Besides, I was abused too, and I love my Trainer. I'd do anything for her. So don't you think your Trainer is beating himself up about this whole thing? Don't you think he'll want to find you? He probably thinks you're dead or he'll never see you again. Don't you want to see him again? How old was he anyway?"

"He was eight," the Charmander replied, somewhat confused.

"And how long has it been?" I asked.

"Two years," he said. "Why?"

"So don't you think he'll be coming to get a Pokemon for his journey too?" I asked. "Maybe he'll show up soon. Don't you think?"

That seemed to make the young Charmander considerably happier. He smiled, and his eyes seemed to light up. His tail burned brighter even though rain was hitting it, and I was sure that blaze wasn't going to go out any time soon. I couldn't help but feel happy for him, even though the blaze burned me a little. I jumped away with a yelp.

"Oh sorry," he said. "That's why my Trainer called me Blaze."

I nodded, telling him that it was alright with a small smile. I certainly could understand why he would be called that. I looked towards the Lab again, and luckily for us Lucy was coming with an umbrella, so we could walk without getting Blaze's tail wet. He smiled up at her when she came and knelt down. She smiled back at us.

"Did you make a friend Zero?" she asked.

"Sort of," I replied. "Can you take him inside? I'm going to see if there are anymore Pokemon hiding around. I'll come inside in a while."

"Alright," she said, scooping up the happy little Charmander who was oblivious to the fact that she could hear me. "But be careful."

I nodded and watched her walk off a bit. I couldn't help but smile a little. I liked that feeling. I wanted to help other people and Pokemon, but especially those that had gone through the same thing as I had. I wanted to help out, and grow stronger. I didn't want anyone to feel lonely like I had. I supposed that I would do that on our journey as well. As long as I was with Lucy I could do anything.

I turned then, much happier, to look around. I couldn't see anymore Pokemon hiding around here, but that didn't mean there weren't any. I trotted happily through the back lot, which was really quite large. I saw Water Pokemon who laughed and splashed at me even though I was already soaked. I gave them a smile, but walked on more. I soon found myself in a sort of forested area, though it wasn't really a forest. I looked around, but I couldn't see anyone. I supposed we had gotten the all inside, and was about to turn around and leave. But then I heard a high and clear voice.

"Yes yes," a female voice said. "I'm looking, but I just don't see him anywhere! Hm, maybe he's still on the island? No? Lugia checked there? Well where is he?"

"Um," I said, confused and surprised at hearing about the Legendary Pokemon Lugia. "Hello?"

"What?" the voice asked. "Oh someone's there. I'll ask them...Of course it'll be fine! Aaaww, it's a little Zorua. Hi there little one!"

I looked around, completely confused. But suddenly there was an excited little blur of green and a tiny little Pokemon had scooped me into a hug. I looked up and gasped, finding myself looking at a Celebi. A Legendary Pokemon here? I didn't understand that at all! She just giggled and produced a berry out of no where and popped it in my mouth. She just giggled.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Celebi...What I'm just being polite! Anyway, don't mind Dialga. He's just mad because we can't find Darkrai. We need him for a meeting because you see...Oh right sorry! I can't tell you that. But anyway, we're looking for Darkrai. Have you seen a big scary Dark Type around here?"

I blinked, surprised. I had never expected to run into a Celebi here. And she was talking to Dialga? I was confused, but I realized I must look stupid with a berry sticking out of my mouth. I quickly ate it, deciding that it was better to eat it and not look rude. I quickly swallowed and looked at her, confused and unsure what to say.

"Sorry," I said. "I just didn't expect to meet a Legendary Pokemon."

"Oh that's alright," she said with a giggle. "You're just so cute! I can't wait until you grow up! I want to see you then too! Here have another berry." She then popped yet another berry into my mouth. I was confused but ate it too, blinking. She seemed rather happy.

"So um," I said nervously. "You're looking for...Darkrai?"

"Oh yes that's right," she cried. "Have you seen him? It's really important! We need to...oh right sorry Dialga! I can't tell you, but you have to keep everything I said a secret okay?"

"U-Um," I said, confused and feeling stupid. "Can I tell my Trainer?"

"Oh of course," she said. "Pokemon tell their Trainers everything they know, at least the ones they can talk. But keep it a secret okay? Oh right! Darkrai, have you see Darkrai?"

"U-Um," I said "I'll keep your secret and Lucy will too. But I've never seen a Darkrai before in my life."

"Ah, that's okay," she said with a smile. "I guess he's not here then. We'll have to keep looking. Sorry places to be and things to do. Keep being cute until you grow up big and strong! Here have another berry. Bye!"

She shoved one last berry into my mouth and then zoomed away, the whole time talking to Dialga who I hadn't heard or seen. I was kind of glad. I didn't want to run into a Legendary Pokemon that was that massive. I quickly ate the berry, unsure what else to do, and then ran back inside as fast as I could, hoping to not have anymore strange encounters. Inside I shook off, very confused. At least Celebi had been a very happy Pokemon.

"Zero?" I heard Lucy call. "Is that you?"

I looked towards her voice. I supposed I'd better keep my promise and keep that secret, whatever that meant. I would tell her later I guessed, but only when I got her alone long enough. And I was too shook up to tell her now. I ran towards her though and leaped onto her shoulder, purring and rubbing my face into her neck. She laughed and petted me.

"What's gotten into you?" she asked. "Come on, Professor Oak's waiting."

She patted me a moment more and then walked towards the room where Oak was waiting. We paused a moment though, because there was a boy there. He looked sad and nervous, and rather timid. He had freckles on his face and green eyes, and his hair was short and blonde. A woman that I assumed was his mother was standing there and holding his shoulder.

"Please," she said. "Do you have a Pokemon for my son? Anything will do! I just want him to go on a journey!"

"I don't want to mom," he said.

"Well," Oak said, "I don't have any starters right now. It's an odd request. Why do you not want to go on a journey though?"

"I lost my other Pokemon," he said sadly. "I was too weak to do anything!"

"It was Team Rocket," his mother cried. "How were you supposed to be able to defeat them?"

I froze, looking at the boy. Losing a Pokemon to Team Rocket? Could it be Blaze? Could there be that many strange coincidences in one day? Was that even possible? I was willing to give it a try though. I leaped off of Lucy's shoulder and ran forward. Lucy called after me in surprise. The boy and his mother looked at me.

"Oh?" Oak asked. "What is it Zero?"

"Hey," I called up at the boy. He and his mother were surprised, but I didn't pause. "Did you lose a Charmander to Team Rocket? There's one here called Blaze, and his tail lights up in this huge fire when he gets happy."

I was sure that this hit right on the money. The boy gasped, and tears appeared in his eyes. The mother looked at me a moment, then up at Oak in surprise. The boy just continued to stare at me.

"Is that true?" she asked, hopeful.

"Well there's certainly a Charmander here that was dropped off by police," Oak said. "But Zero seems to think he's the one, and Zero can talk to humans and Pokemon. Lucy, can you go and get that Charmander for us?"

"Sure," Lucy said, somewhat perplexed.

She left the room, and the boy just continued to stare at me. He knelt and reached out, beginning to pet me. I let him without a complaint. I would let humans pet me, though I didn't purr to them as much, if at all, as I did to Lucy. She was my best friend though. The boy just pet me very gently, and I smiled up at him. The mother looked at me a moment.

"Zero you said?" she asked.

"Yes," Oak said. "From what I know, he was taken from his home in Unova and abused. However his Trainer, the girl Lucy you just saw, has done wonders with him, and he's quiet tame. He taught himself to talk recently as well. She's turning ten tomorrow and he'll be her partner for the journey. Since you'll be starting today, she'll be a little behind, but it's always good to have some healthy rivalry on the road."

"Here he is," Lucy called.

Lucy brought a very confused Blaze into the room, who then froze when he saw the boy. But a huge smile spread across his face when he looked at me, and his tail blazed even brighter than it had been before. He came charging across the room into the boy's arms, and I barely had time to dodge. I leaped back up onto Lucy's shoulder and watched with a smile. This felt great.

"Mark," Blaze cried.

"Oh," I said. "So you're name's Mark."

"H-How'd you know that?" the boy asked.

"That's what Blaze just called you," I told him with a smile.

The boy looked down with disbelief in his eyes. I could understand why. How on earth was something like this even possible? But then he finally realized that his partner was back to stay. He started crying and hugged the little Charmander even tighter, and the blaze on his tail grew bigger. He looked up at Lucy and me then, and his mother only smiled.

"So you're Lucy?" he asked.

"That's me," Lucy replied with a smile, stroking my chin. I purred and leaned into her hand. "And this is my partner Zero. We're leaving tomorrow for our journey!"

"My names Mark," the boy said with a smile. "And you've met Blaze. You know...your Pokemon's pretty cool. You think we can be friends?"

"Definitely," Lucy said with a smile. "Are you and Blaze going on your journey?"

"Yeah," Mark said with a huge smile. He seemed way more confident. "We're leaving today. So we'll be ahead of you. Don't keep us waiting okay? It's because of you two that we're back together. We'll have to thank you properly with a battle later. Mom, I'm going to get going soon, after the rain ends."

"Have fun," she said with a smile and tears in her eyes. "And remember, your Pokemon and you are there for each other. So don't be afraid to battle."

"I won't," Mark said with a smile.

"Now that that's settled," Oak said with a smile. "Lucy it's time you and Zero went home. I've got to introduce you to someone, and you two should get some rest for tomorrow. Everything's going to be fine, so let's go. It'll be fine."

"Okay," Lucy said, though kind of perplexed.

She turned and followed Oak out of the house. The rain was still falling, but she picked up the umbrella and held it over us, so I was glad that I wasn't getting wet anymore. Oak walked without an umbrella, and he led us with a cheerful whistle back towards our old house. I wasn't sure how Lucy was going to take that. After all, she had just lost her Grandpa. Sure enough she started to get sad again. The group was still outside, talking quietly about the Pokemon that had been left to them in the will. They looked up at Lucy, pausing. This was making her sad as well to see them all leaving. I growled at her in annoyance.

"Don't start that again," I said. This of course surprised the Trainers and the Pokemon, most of whom didn't know I had taught myself to talk.

"I-I'm sorry Zero," she said. "I just feel so lonely."

"And what am I?" I asked. "Aren't I right here? I can even talk to you, so it's not like you're going to be alone, got it?"

"Yeah," she said, managing a small smile. "I know. Sorry Zero."

She paused a moment, looking at all of the Trainers and the Pokemon that she had grown up with. She seemed sad, but she wasn't too sad. She was being strong now. I knew that she was going to be lonely for a while, but she would be okay. I was here for her, so she would never really be alone. And when she was out on her journey she would meet many more people and Pokemon, and she would grow and get strong. She would be fine. I smiled at her, and she managed a smile back.

"Take care everyone," she said. "I'm going to be leaving soon, so we might meet again. And when we do Zero and I will be stronger, maybe even strong enough to beat some of you!"

The Trainers and the Pokemon all smiled and nodded, glad to see she wasn't so sad now. The older Pokemon that I had grown to know while I was here were all smiling at me, pride in their eyes. Yes, this was goodbye, but only for now. Strange things tended to happen, so who knew? Maybe we would meet again and get to battle. We were sad now, but our lives were ahead of us. Why be sad now? We had so much to do! Lucy finally seemed to realize this as well, and her shoulders straightened a little with excitement. Some excitement was in her eyes again.

A young man stepped forward. He was smiling at us. He had somewhat wild and white hair, and his eyes were golden. It was a bit of an odd combination. He turned his shoulder slightly away from us, and then raised his hand to me, his shoulder slightly bent. It was a familiar move to me. That was how a Zoroark invited a young Zorua to ride on their heads or shoulders. I blinked. He seemed to know about us.

"My name's Kyle," he explained. "I was the one who traded Nina to your Grandpa. I decided though that she'd be better needed here, so she's going to stay. That's a lively little Zorua you've got there. Can I see him?"

"Oh, Zero?" Lucy asked. "I don't know. He's gotten better, but he was abused. He doesn't seem to like anyone else but me much."

"It's okay," Kyle said with a smile. "Come here Zero. I'm not going to hurt you."

I blinked, looking at him a moment. But then I leaped up onto his hand and ran up his arm to sit on his shoulder. I looked at him as he lowered his arm and smiled at me. He held up a single finger to me, which I sniffed carefully. But he seemed alright, so he began to pet me, and I let him. He knew right where to scratch my back so I liked it. I smiled and purred a little to him, but nothing like I would do for Lucy.

"There we are," Kyle said with a smile. "Not so bad around people huh?"

"He's purring," Lucy said excitedly. I thought she might be a little jealous, but she was very happy. "I can't believe it! He usually doesn't purr for anyone but me!"

"I've lived in an area where there are Zoroark for a long time," Kyle said. "And Zorua too. I know a lot about them. Let's see...this one's a little small, but I don't think that's a problem. He sure makes up for it in spirit. When he evolves he'll probably be one of the biggest Zoroark I've ever seen. How are his illusions? Has he changed into anything."

"Yeah," Lucy said with a nod. "In our first battle a couple months ago he changed into a Charizard."

"How did it look?" Kyle asked. "Did he still have a Zorua's tail?"

"No," she said. "It looked completely real."

"Interesting," Kyle said with a smile. "His illusion ability already seems strong. It'll be even stronger once he evolves, much stronger than even Nina's. He's going to be one powerful Pokemon. You two take good care of each other on your journey alright?"

"We will," I promised him with a smile. I leaped back onto Lucy's shoulder, who smiled and patted me. I rubbed my face against her cheek.

"He's a good little one," Kyle said. "He'll take good care of you, so you be sure to take good care of him in return. It's going to be a hard journey ahead of you, but it'll be fun too! Now why don't you two go inside and see what your Grandpa left for you. I'm sure it'll be useful on your journey."

Kyle waved with a smile and then turned and left. We watched him go a moment, but then Oak motioned us forward, so Lucy turned and walked into the house. I was glad to be in the dry house, and leaped down, shaking the water out of my fur on the mat so I wouldn't get the floor too wet. Lucy put the umbrella down, which folded a little for convenient storage in a small place. We looked around the house.

It seemed a little sad and lonely without Grandpa's whistling coming from the other room. But I soon heard Nina humming a little tune, as she often did while she worked around the house. She came into the front hall and smiled at us, letting out a purr to Lucy. Lucy walked forward and stroked her muzzle. I looked towards the stairs and found Rex the Luxray sleeping there as usual. I wasn't sure why he liked to sleep there, but I was glad to see that he was still there.

"Hello?" a pretty voice called. "Lucy is that you?"

A pretty young human walked out of the kitchen and smiled at Lucy. I had never seen her before, and I was pretty sure that Lucy hadn't either given the look on her face. I leaped up onto Lucy's shoulder again and blinked at her. She had long brown hair that was nearly all the way down her back. Her eyes were blue, and she smiled at us in a cheerful manner. A Cottonee was perched on her shoulder, cooing gently at us.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"My name is Sarah," the woman replied with a gentle smile. "I know it's a little odd, but your Grandpa left me the house in his will since I used to have no place of my own. Of course, this is your home too, so I wouldn't dare throw you out. You're going on your adventure soon right? Well whenever you decide to come home for a while, this place will still be open for you. So just think of me like your older sister or cousin or something okay?"

Lucy seemed a little confused and unsure. On one hand she probably wanted to hate this woman for coming and taking over this house just like that. On the other, I knew she was relieved that she would still have a home to come back to after all of that. There was nothing like home after all. Rex looked up with some interest, and Nina smiled and purred to Lucy again to tell her that it was alright.

"Thanks," Lucy said at last, nodding a little.

"It's the least I could do," Sarah said, glancing towards the kitchen where she was baking something that smelled really good. "Your Grandpa took such good care of me for a while. Nina and Rex are staying here to help watch over the house, and my Cottonee here, Cloud will be too. She's been very excited to meet you. "

"Hi," she said happily. "And have fun on your journey."

"Hello Cloud," Lucy said, correctly guessing what she meant. "It's going to be a little weird, but I guess I'll get used to it. Take god care of everything while I'm gone okay?"

"Of course," Sarah said with a smile. "Oh, and your Grandpa left you some things. Here come upstairs and take a look alright?"

Sarah stepped over Rex, who had laid his head back down to nap, and went upstairs. Lucy paused a moment, but then at last stepped over the Luxray and followed her upstairs as well. She went to her room, and found Sarah waiting there with a bag and several items lying on the bed. Lucy went over and looked at the bag.

"I can show you how to pack everything so it all fits," Sarah explained. "But here it is. There's a bag here he wanted you to have. There are Potions inside, some berries, a sleeping bag for the road, a pocket for TM's because they'll be useful, a flashlight, Pokeballs for catching some Pokemon, a place for extra clothes and toiletries so you can stay clean on the road, extra batteries for the flashlight, a Town Map so you won't get lost, and finally a camera and a picture album so you can keep track of all of your memories and the places you go. Pretty good huh?"

"He left all this for me?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Sarah said. "You and your Pokemon. He knew he was dying, so he was preparing to send you off as best he could, just like he had with your brother. He's not here in person, but he's still here, so take it and be proud to. You're leaving tomorrow right? After the funeral you can take off and go on your adventure. It'll be great! I still remember my first day. It will be a little sad, but it'll be a happy time too. And you'll take good care of her, won't you Zero?"

"Of course," I replied.

Lucy just stared at the bed a moment, and then tears appeared in her eyes. She seemed both upset and happy. Yes, Grandpa wasn't here to see her off, but he had made sure that she was ready to be off. I had to admit, it was impressive. The old guy hadn't spared anything for her. He had always taken such good care of her, and now it was my turn. I was going to make him proud.

"Thank you," Lucy said quietly.

Sarah just smiled and reached into a box beside the bed. She pulled out two Pokeballs. They were identical, and there were no distinguishing features. Lucy turned to look at them, regarding them a moment. She didn't seem to know what to make of them at first.

"Here," Sarah said. "There's one last thing. Your Grandpa wanted to give you and Tom both a Pokemon before he died, but he said that if he died before then he'd let you two pick. You get one, so pick carefully. I don't even know what's inside these Pokeballs yet. The Pokemon you pick will be yours to keep. Tom's not here, so he'll just have to get the one you don't pick okay?"

"Pokemon?" Lucy asked. "And I have to pick one? But I already have Zero."

"I know," Sarah said with a smile. "But your Grandpa wanted to give you two another gift before he left. Since you'll be leaving soon, I thought it would be a great time to give it to you. So take good care of the little guy when you get them alright?"

Sarah just smiled and held out the Pokeballs to Lucy. Lucy nodded, and the stared at them intently, as if to unlock some secret they held. She was trying really hard to decide which Pokemon would join our team. I had to agree that it was pretty exciting. Cloud watched intently from her perch, as did I. At last Lucy took the Pokeball in Sarah's left hand.

"Well alright," she said. "I choose this one. Come on out!"

There was a flash of light, and then there was an excited Growlithe on the floor. She jumped up and down and smiled at all of us. She turned and saw Lucy and ran right to her, jumping up into her arms and giggling. Lucy smiled too and hugged the little puppy like Pokemon. The Growlithe looked up at me and smiled brightly.

"Hi there," she said. "My dad said he was Trainer's Pokemon once and it was really fun, so I let the old man catch me when he said he wanted to give me to one of his grandchildren. I was so excited! I want to go on an adventure! Are you her Pokemon too? We'll be best friends! You're her partner right?"

I just blinked at looked down at the Pokemon. She seemed different than every other Fire Type I had ever met. Most of them seemed rash and brazen. She seemed much more excited than anything else. Her tail was wagging practically none stop. Lucy smiled at her though, and seemed to like her a lot. I knew she was joining our team, so I wasn't too worried.

"Ah a Growlithe," Sarah said. "What a cute little Fire Type. You'd better give her a nickname too, don't you think? That way you can keep track of her too. It's good to nickname Pokemon too. It makes them your own best friends, because Pokemon are our friends."

"Alright," Lucy said with a smile. "But what to call you..."

The Growlithe sat both perfectly happy and perfectly still in Lucy's arms. Her tail continued to wag, and she didn't seem to mind getting a nickname at all. She seemed even more excited than ever to prove that she could have a nickname. Like she had just found a huge pile of berries. I guess it was better than having an extremely angry Pokemon. Lucy just thought for a moment silently, trying to come up with a unique and fitting nickname. At last she smiled and looked down.

"What about Scarlet?" Lucy asked.

"Yes yes," the Growlithe exclaimed happily. "That name's great. Don't you think? Yay I'm going on an adventure!"

"She seems excited, doesn't she Zero?" Lucy asked.

"She likes the name," I told her with a smile.

"Oh so your name's Zero?" Scarlet asked. "Great! We're going to be best friends and have so much fun on this journey! Aren't you excited? And you can talk to our Trainer! This is so awesome!"

"Yeah I guess," I said with a smile back. "But we're not leaving until tomorrow. Have you battled yet?"

"Nope not yet," Scarlet said. "But I can't wait to. So we're not going to be leaving until tomorrow? That's okay! I get to be out of my Pokeball more and have some fun!"

"Well there you go," Sarah said with a smile. "Now let me see..."

Sarah picked up the camera and looked it over, then she smiled and scooted Lucy up and over onto the bed with all of the stuff still laying everywhere. Lucy held up Scarlet with a smile for the camera to see. Scarlet was sitting in a somewhat awkward position in her lap, standing on her back paws with Lucy's hands under her front so they dangled out in front of her. But Scarlet only smiled and wagged her tail for the camera. I was balanced on Lucy's shoulder, and I smiled mischievously for the camera. I still didn't understand why humans liked cameras and pictures for memories, but I wasn't complaining. I would smile for the camera and pose all Lucy wanted if it would get her to smile more. There was a pop and a flash from the top, and then a small square popped out from the front. Scarlet and I were confused, and Lucy didn't seem to know what to think either. Sarah smiled and just began to waved the picture back and forth.

"This is a Polaroid," she explained. "It's an older camera, but it's good for you since you won't have time to stop and print out photos or get film developed. It takes a picture and then dispenses it right away. Don't touch the black part or you'll leave finger prints. Just wave it around a little to dry and then...perfect!"

She handed Lucy the picture, and she held it up so that Scarlet and I could see it. We stared down at it. It was a perfect picture of the scene we had just been in, paused forever in time so that it could be seen by anyone who wanted to look at it. We were smaller, a lot smaller. But our faces were still clearly visible. This seemed to make Lucy very happy and she looked at Scarlet and me.

"Isn't this great guys?" she asked. "Now we'll always have this moment! The moment when Scarlet joined us and we got everything to start our adventure! We'll be leaving soon too, and we can get a picture then. And we can get pictures about every important thing that happens to us along the way! We'll never lose this moment!"

"It's perfect," Scarlet gasped in excitement.

"It'll be great for our journey," I relented with a smile when I saw how happy she was.

"Here," Sarah said, handing Lucy the Photo Album. It was simple and golden in color. "Keep it in here."

Lucy set Scarlet down on the bed beside her, and then opened the small little photo album. There were tiny little slots to put the pictures in, the same shape as the picture we had just gotten. This album was made for this kind of picture. She slid it into the first slot securely with a smile, and then paused. She took out a pen and scribbled down the date, our names, and a title: "Getting Ready to Go". She seemed very satisfied and smiled.

"There," she said. "Perfect! We'll keep taking pictures until we fill this one up, and then we'll get another one too if we need to! Thank you, this is great! Oh...and thank you too Grandpa for all the wonderful gifts."

Sarah just smiled and put the other Pokeball away. She then showed Lucy how to fold everything so that it it fit neatly with plenty of room to spare in the large bag. I nosed it, and found that it was surprisingly light. I could have carried it for a while, though I would be dragging it behind me. It was perfect for out adventure. I couldn't deny that I was getting excited as well. We were really going to go on this journey! I hadn't wanted it before, but now I couldn't keep myself from smiling.

"Well," Sarah said with a smile. "Everything's packed away. You'll need some sleep too for tomorrow. It's a big day! I'm baking you a cake and everything. After the funeral you can go and register for the Secret Contest, and I'll be there to see you and your team off. Come on downstairs, dinner's almost ready."

My mouth began to water a little at the thought of food, and I smiled at Lucy. She smiled too and put the pen and album neatly away in the bag beside the camera. She then leaped up and down the stairs ahead of Sarah, with Scarlet in close pursuit of us, giggling the whole way. She leaped over Rex, who looked somewhat angry, but also amused. No doubt he remembered when he was first caught and went out on his journey with his Trainer. But I wanted food now, and to be off.

* * *

**This was a long chapter. o.o**

**But in this one we got to see our first foreshadowing of what is to come later on in the story, as well as getting our little band of heroes almost ready to go out the door. Sorry for the time skip, but I wanted to get this moving. And adding in Scarlet might have been a little random, but I wanted to get another character and team member involved as soon as possible. Anyway, leave a comment below if you liked it! :D**


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